Wish List for a New Com-Pac 23 Diesel

[Gus]

BR - in response to your last post, I did some investigating and determined the following: There are less caustic forms of acid that are just as effective and less harmful to you and/or other than plastic components typically found on or around boats i.e. fittings and trailer. Based on opinions expressed it seems that acid is only effective on stains. Not a scientific opinion but one expressed by several is that dullness is due to pitting of the gel coat by the sun's UV and must be corrected by mechanical means - back to good old elbow grease. I had a Suncat with a blue hull which was pretty dull when I acquired it. I used the wet sanding approach and got an improvement only after a lot of work. I was concerned that starting out with an abrasive too great would remove the colored gel coat so I was very restrained. I think I started with something like 150 and progressed through 1500 or 2000. Problem is that the heavier the initial grit the more you have to sand with the finer grit to remove the scratches of the heavier grit. Inversely if you start with a very fine grit you may not effectively remove the bulk of the oxidation and simply put a shine on the chalkiness. I got the hull looking decent, but not as I would have wanted. The process was laborious, messy, and time consuming. So unless there is some miracle in a bottle then I am resolved to either stick with a white hull, or paint for any other color.

The following statement for amusement only:
Wasn't it nice when boats were made of wood and the function of paint was more important than the cosmetics? The oyster-men of the Chesapeake would typically use paint from Sears or the hardware store for their boats. Is our quest for beautiful boats a product of social progress or just boat show marketing. I eventually came to settle with the solution for my Suncat was that I couldn't see the hull when sailing and that if it disturbed others it wasn't my problem. Just a philosophical way to skin the cat.

I like your way of thinking!

[moonlight]

Tons of great ideas here!

I bought two CP 25 diesels ... eek, 19 years ago.  My foray into a sailboat dealership and charter operation ...

Even then, I knew there were better options for auxiliary propulsion, but what was available was like buying one of Bill Gate's garage computers.  At least, at that time, unless you were a locomotive, alternative propulsion had to be home built in a garage.

In the past 15, 20 years; energy storage and density has come a LONG LONG WAY.

For a five mile lake, I would hands down go with electric propulsion, even still with a shaft and prop underneath.  Ample lithium iron phosphate batteries would run that boat at 4 or more knots for six or more hours; even sufficient for the cruises in the Chesapeake.

no engine maintenance, EVER.  No impellers, no fuel filters, no oil changes.

If you insist on a diesel, insist on a day tank of less than 3 gallons; like a portable outboard tank.  Use it exclusively in Ohio.  Keep the inboard tank clean.  Buy a diesel tractor, and at the end of your season on the 5 mile lake, put the remaining 2.5 gallons diesel you bought in the spring in the tractor.

Et cetera.

The (lack of) hours you'll put on the diesel, the (lack of) load you'll put on the diesel; you'll have more hours in diesel maintenance and fuel maintenance than you'll have on the engine...

It is, after all, a SAIL boat

[captronr]

Great idea on the small portable diesel tank, unless you plan to run the motor enough to keep the fuel fresh.

We had a guy in our former sail club that had a 35ft boat with an inboard diesel.  He was an infrequent sailor--the boat sat more than it was used.  His inboard diesel tank got gummed up and he spent more of one summer trying to clean it out to the point where the motor would run. 

Many of us suggested to him that if he ever got it running again, he should set a T in his fuel line, create a space for a 5 gallon portable tank, and NEVER use the internal tank again.  Don't think he ever made it that far, but to most of us, we figured it would be time and money well spent.

Ron

[PJ]

Two thoughts on the diesel...

1-  Had a diesel in my Flicka 20  Yanmar 1gm.  Had the boat for five years, only went through 2 full tanks of diesel in that time (Percy Priest Lake, TN).  Added marine diesel additive to each tank, and never had an issue in five years. My personal experience, your mileage may vary...  If you don't put in the additive, microbes will surely grow in your tank and leave you a huge mess. 

2- Use a five gallon portable can and put in diesel additive to eliminate microbe growth.  Then simply add to your permanent tank a gallon or two at a time depending on your use.  My 1gm would run several hours on a gallon.  Figure out your consumption rate, and look at your hour meter.  As you approach your gallon (or two usage) add from your portable diesel tank to your permanent tank.

Just my .02

[Mas]

Hey Zappie, much good advice given here so will not bother with tons of it but would like to second a few ideas and offer a perspective. First of all congrats on the 23D, we returned to sailing with a 23D we had for a while and they are great sailing boats!

The list of items you are already considering is a good list and here is my perspective on some.

-So.....do reconsider the hull color if ever thinking about warmer climes as more that one person has regretted a dark hull in hot weather aside from just the cosmetic issues.

-Get the furler. Going forward on a small boat in building wind and sea is not tons of fun.

-We addressed the water tank issues with flexible tanks. They can fit almost anywhere.

-Had the marine head and frankly using it in the middle of the night right beside the head of my better half is less than ideal. Porta potties are equally bad in that location but at least can be removed and doesn't cost much. At dock we used the bath house and while out wished we could have had the potty outside. We usually sought out private locations. It was also must for our next boat, a self contained head. Happy wife now!
!
-23's are not trailer sailers. they can are moved on a trailer but are not the easiest to rig, launch, recover, de-rig. The lake you are gong to keep her is a small body of water for having good fetch. sounds as though you aware of what the 23 is and is not.

-plan to convert the cockpit to a queen sized bed for nice nights with a filler for the well (we used the cockpit grate and added mounting strips and cross bracing) and a boom tent. Best spot to sleep on that boat!

-We had a Yanmar 1gm and an 11 gallon fuel tank. That equaled 48 hours of non stop motoring if desired. Do use the additive as you will rarely go through a tank in a season.

-many things can be added as you find need for them. It's easy to get excited and try to plan everything up front. I would hardily recommend sailing her for a season or two and then decide what else is needed. Keep it simple, that is the beauty of the 23. Attached a photo of that boat 'No Mas'.

Welcome to a great bunch of folks and a great little boat!

[brackish]

-Had the marine head and frankly using it in the middle of the night right beside the head of my better half is less than ideal. Porta potties are equally bad in that location but at least can be removed and doesn't cost much. At dock we used the bath house and while out wished we could have had the potty outside. We usually sought out private locations. It was also must for our next boat, a self contained head. Happy wife now

Just got back from an overnight and my wife reminded me how much she appreciated the changed head option.  We had a porta potty and separating the holding tank, pulling it out of the boat from between the forward v-berth with  only bending headroom at 95F then dumping the nasty thing, then recharging was horrible.  I have a filler for the v-berth, and a topper with a fitted sheet to make the area very nice for sleeping, particularly in colder weather.  However the head becomes unusable when the berth is made up.  I  replaced the pp with a Clean Waste toilet using Wag Bags that is very light and can be moved to either the cockpit or main cabin area at night.  That move made me a hero with my wife.  I keep a 5 gallon bucket with a gamma seal lid in the starboard cockpit locker to put the used Wag Bags in along with all the other boat trash and cleanup becomes dumping the bucket in a dumpster on the way to my truck.

I bought a gross of Wag Bags which will be a lifetime supply I'm sure.  Crazy Carl put me on them at a very good price, and although my wife has never met CC she is forever indebted.

[Potcake boy]

On the topic of heads:

I have become a champion of composting heads, but my pilot house has a enclosed head area so it is a natural. From the above posts, I can appreciate the the inconvenience of the head under the v-berth. I use that space for my Engle fridge and it's easy to forgo midnight snacks, in favor of not disturbing the Admiral. I love the idea of sleeping in the cockpit, but I would be the main attraction for the mosquitoes when anchored in our favorite spots here in Florida.

I used a bucket and wag bags on my Corsair tri and kept the whole apparatus in the ama (float) which provided more space in the cabin. That system worked very well with the single exception of the slight smell that permeated the bags. It could have been the brand of bags (purchased at Walmart). The concept isn't that different from a composting head, so I have to wonder if adding some composting media may solve then problem of containing the odor. I use Cedar chips from the pet section. If I still had a wag bag system I would try it myself, but hopefully some one out there will try this experiment and share the results.

[moonlight]

Still on the subject of diesel or day tanks:
- huge plus for a 3 gallon day tank.  Or even 1 gallon.  Adding 1 gallon or 3 gallons to an 11 gallon tank doesn't make all that you added use-able.  Too much spread out thin with way too much humidity; I guess in a few years you'll own a peat bog contained in the tank.  Plus, much much easier to handle doing fuel transfers underway a great way to make a mess.

And a new topic: if you're commissioning a vessel to be built, insist on ABYC-compliant wiring.  I actually asked that question 18 years ago and forget what lukewarm answer I got, but when I received the vessel(s) it was clear that A) the ABYC coloring code was not followed; B) Marine Grade tinned wire was not used; and more.  Once it's done, it's done; as some of it is inaccessible if not even glassed into place.  So even if they charge you an upgrade; it's worth $500 in my opinion.  Even to bump EVERYTHING up one wire gauge wouldn't hurt, i.e. instead of run 14ga run 12ga, instead of 16ga run 14ga.  That adds YEARS to the longevity of the system as corrosion will eventually eat almost everything (except the fiberglass and other plastics, sad state of affairs there but hey they have improved our world).

[Jim in TC]

<<<Now at 4 years plus the only way out is to spray paint the hull.>>>

I just took over a Sun Cat that had a badly faded (from 2006) green hull. The previous owner and I, using a decent grade of marine paint from West Marine, brush painted the hull and the thick paint covered well, had virtually no brush marks (none that can be noticed unless you look really hard) and looks great (and was pretty easy to apply, took far less paint than expected). A bit of paint left over has been great for some dock burn that we have encountered as we learn how the boat responds...

That said, given a choice with a new boat, I expect I would opt for white...

[Bilge Rat]

Another faded green hull owner here. What type of paint did you use? Please post a photo if you can. thanks.

[Jim in TC]

We used Easypoxy, a Pettit brand, topside paint for both the hull and topsides. The paint was already purchased and partially on when I bought the boat; I would have opted for something designed for the hull, though even in the water all of the new paint is above the bottom paint and painted waterline - topside paint is not recommended for constant immersion.  We are not in the water all season, but aspire to that once I get a slip (on the waiting list). We scuffed the surface with a random orbital sander, which did not take much time.

The photo on our profile shows it from a distance, and if successfully attached the photos below show the name being painted on (with topside paint) and whole hull in the driveway.

[Jim in TC]

next photo

[HeaveToo]

My experience was from cruising a Compac 23 on the Chesapeake Bay for longer cruises.  I was single handed and did a few trips of a week or longer.

The Compac 23 will surprise you with its sailing ability.  While it won't point like a deep keel racing boat, it doesn't do as bad as I thought it would.  It held its own upwind.  Off of the wind I flew an asymmetrical spinnaker and that thing was downright fun.  I was often beating an Uncle that would cruise his Catalina 34 when I had the spinnaker flying.

A tiller pilot is a must.  I ran the crap out of mine and it was very handy to have on board (that is how I could fly a spinnaker single handed).

I had a VHF with AIS receive that was networked to my chart plotter.  That was an awesome addition and I loved being able to see a lot of the boats around me on my GPS. 

Here is a video that I shot of my last trip on the Compac 23:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqDQ1VHNwVM&t=479s

Enjoy the new boat!